Griffin Scholarly and the Seven Silver Boarhounds
by FelixElskeWins
Summary: Griffin Scholarly is possibly one of the least scholarly students at Hogwarts. Dark magic abounds in her family and she struggles with her path. Neatly associates with Marauders. Of course. Just read it. NOW! GO! DO IT! READ!
1. Prologue

Griffin Scholarly

And the Seven Silver Boarhounds

Prologue

On a good day the dark alleyways of Knockturn Alley were less than inviting; on a bad day, they could turn away the most determined of wizards. Today, even though it was the middle of summer, and the middle of the day, the sky was almost black and heavy drops of rain came down and plopped on the dusty cobblestones. The winds whistling through the tight lanes and rocking the squeaking shop signs from side to side were nearly at gale force.

A man shrouded heavily in black and purple robes walked against the wind, a hand shielding his face from the wind and rain. He coughed as the rising dust crept into his nostrils and he turned down a particularly small and dank alleyway.

He emerged in a small cul-de-sac on the other side, four or five shops at most crowding into each other and looking as though they too were trying to shield themselves against the foul weather. Although each building looked terrifically old, the paint peeling on their rotting doors, their stone walls dirty and crumbling, they each held a definite sense of regality. The ground here was cobblestone too, but it was a lighter shade of grey and looked as though it could have once been white, or perhaps cream. A marble fountain of a snake stood in the centre of the court, towering fearsomely with a weak stream of slimy yellow water trickling from its gaping mouth; looking disturbingly like venom.

The man stalked up the stairs to the middle building; a rusty hinged, black sign hung from above the door. A green snake was painted on it spitting silver stars, but there was no name. The tall and ornately trimmed entrance had no doorknob, but a silver keyhole was situated at the top of the door. He reached out a spindly hand from his robes and whipped out his wand from his deep pockets. He pointed the wand tip at the keyhole and muttered

"_Alohomoras Potens."_

The door swung open slowly with a creak like an old man huffily not wanting to be rushed. The man whipped his wand back into his pocket and muttering stepped into the darkness inside…

Hundreds of miles away at exactly ten past twelve on the same Monday, Eirolwyn Scholarly was finally lying peacefully; her pale lips no longer emitting screams that had filled all members of the Scholarly Manor with dread. Now everything was calm and still.

A crib stood in a room several rooms away from Eirolwyn, carved from the finest pine and crested with a magnificent large eagle with the lower torso of a lion. Inside a very small child had been placed just seven minutes before, wrapped in a black silk shawl. The room was dank and dark; decorated with fearsome portraits, an empty but grand fireplace made of cold stone and wicked looking weapons that decked the walls. The shawl was irritating to the newborn's skin, and hardly kept in any warmth at all, but still she lay quietly, her small eyes closed and her soft, little, pink lips slightly open, emitting steady little breaths.

She had fine golden hair on her head and little hands with tiny ladylike fingernails already formed. As she slept, a servant kept a stern and suspicious look on her, as though he expected the tiny thing to suddenly get up and start wreaking havoc on the Manor.

For several days more mother and child slept, only awakening occasionally to look around, before drifting off once again. Then suddenly, at six o'clock on Monday afternoon, Jacob Scholarly, master of the Manor (second only to his wife) finally got sick of this, and told servants to rouse her.

Looking sickly, from a difficult pregnancy and labour, and lack of several days, Eirolwyn meekly followed her husband into the chamber of their second child.

"Look at it." Commanded Jacob briskly, "It's too small."

Eirolwyn stared at her child. It had blonde hair, just like hers…

As she looked, the child suddenly woke, glanced with bright green eyes (an attribute no Scholarly had ever possessed), at its parents. Then without warning, the child broke it's week long silence by bursting into tears; its face rumpled and rapidly turning from a creamy pale complexion, to a beetroot color.

Eirolwyn's stomach lurched.

"Not another screamer!" She cried exasperatedly and brushed past her husband, and out of the room. Jacob stood where he was for a second, a furious expression on his face, then he too turned, glaring at a servant maid standing anxiously by the door.

"WELL DON'T JUST STAND THERE! FIX IT!" he roared, knocking her sideways as he left the room.

Nodding and quivering slightly, the maid walked over, picked up the child and began quietly singing a tune she'd once heard a man in a pub humming. Immediately the little thing grew quiet, and stared at the girl curiously.

Smiling as she swayed from side to side with the baby in her arms, she kept singing the only bit of the tune she knew.

"_Hush little babe, _

_You must be quiet,_

_The creatures in the forest are listening._

_Hush little babe,_

_Don't make a noise,_

_Hush little darling baby child.."_

Over and over she sang, becoming more and more quiet, until with a whisper, the child slowly fell asleep once more. She carefully placed her in the cot and immediately rushed off to get her a bottle of warm milk for when she woke.


	2. Tomes and Tempers

Griffin Scholarly

And the Seven Silver Boarhounds

Chapter 1 - Tomes and Tempers

"Griffin! Psst! Over there! It's a bargain!" hissed a sleek and elegant, jet-black cat, perched on the shoulder of a girl of seventeen.

She had her blonde hair up in a messy ponytail (so she could concentrate on the task at hand) and brilliant green eyes that were searching in the direction the cat had indicated with his wet black nose.

"What? Where?" hissed Griffin back, squinting.

They were in Diagon Alley, trying to empty Griffin's heavy dragon skin pouch full of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts to purchase school books for the New Year (her seventh and final year) as well as a cauldron, quills, some new ink and anything else they could find that looked vaguely interesting.

She finally spotted what her cat, Slinket, had meant and frowned darkly. A row of brand new school Quidditch robes were hanging outside of Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Slinket nuzzled his furry face into her neck but the disgusted look on her face didn't change.

"No chance Slinket. I told you to forget about that. I'm not going to play Quidditch. I'm not interested. Besides, they wouldn't want me on the team."

Slinket looked indignant.

"Of course they would! I've seen you out on your broom at Fire Pheasant Crescent. Why won't you at least _try out_ for the team?" He asked in an exasperated voice. "They have a couple of empty spaces this year! You need some extracurricular activities, for heaven's sake girl!" But Griffin was too used to that tone from most people she knew to care very much.

"No. I don't play Quidditch. Now leave it, or I'll turn you into a dirty great rat."

Slinket eyed her suspiciously from his awkward position near her face. He knew she wouldn't really, but the girl did have quite a temper sometimes, and she _was_ a natural at Transfiguration (if nothing else); so you could never be too sure…

"Well in any case, my dear Griffin," continued Slinket, "your school robes are so small, that I could fit in them! Now we _must_ get new ones. It is your mother's strictest wishes that we do so."

Griffin shrugged. She knew that what Slinket said was, though exaggerated, true; and she wanted to get rid of some of her money as quickly as possible. For some reason it made her uncomfortable to have so much money all the time. She had never really even clearly understood how her parents had gotten so rich, but she knew it had something to do with the bloodlines.

Griffin turned her head to look at the cat on her shoulder. She took him off and held him in her arms.

"Alright," She said after thinking it over for a second, "But we'll go to Flourish and Blott's first to get my books."

Slinket murmured an Ok, but flicked his tail around irritably. Griffin never followed his wishes directly and this usually had the same effect as if she were to rub the fur on his back up the wrong way.

They crossed the wide cobblestone road and entered Flourish and Blott's, the wizarding bookshop. It was buzzing with all sorts of people, but mostly students from Hogwarts, both the older ones restocking their supplies and the excited faces of the younger ones who would be starting their first year at the famed school.

Griffin squeezed her way through a pair of screaming children and a rather large woman, to get to a pile of books no one was really interested in; the second hand books. She sorted through the large pile smiling at all the books with worn and dusty covers, scratched gold letters on their fronts shining out proudly as though desperate to inform the world that they were still top class. One little book even squeaked out to her that it could teach her the secrets of the worlds best love potions.

Slinket sneered at the pile.

"Must you always look here first?" He said, licking a paw elegantly, "What on earth is the point of having money if you don't intend to spend it properly?"

Griffin's eyes flashed and her jaw was suddenly set rigid.

"Not everything is about _money_, Slinket," She hissed, "Maybe you'll understand that one day."

Slinket paused his grooming and looked almost thoughtful for a moment.

"No, I doubt that," he said finally, "I'm a cat."

After that she spent more time than she actually needed looking through the dusty old tomes and volumes, just to annoy her cat, who eventually jumped out of her arms and began stalking around the shop on his own.

Once Griffin had chosen three books: a tattered, leather bound book with a silver owl on the front titled _Understanding Animagi_, by Herbert Trimorph, a heavy, hard cover book called _Charms for the Crafty and Curious_ by Emily Flitwick and the little love potions book, just for fun, she tore herself away from the pile to find Slinket.

Or the books she actually needed for the curriculum, whichever turned up first really.

However it was neither cats nor books that Griffin bumped into when she whirled around, but a pale young man, who looked about sixteen, with longish silver blonde hair that greatly annoyed Griffin for some reason. His eyes were cold and grey and his features were sharp.

"Good morning Scholarly," Drawled the boy, eyeing Griffin up and down, "Shopping are we? I saw your cat back there and thought I'd come and say hello."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes like a normal smile should. They remained cold and Griffin had a sudden urge to hit him over the head with one of her books, preferably the heaviest one. She restrained however and smiled as politely as she could, gritting her teeth.

"Hello Malfoy." She said quickly.

She turned away from him and strode off with a quick pace. He followed her, matching her pace, and when she stopped to look for one of the books she needed, _Transfiguration for the Advanced_ by Belinda Trimorph, he rested an arm on the shelf and leaned over.

"Malfoy is what they call my father Griffin, you know that. I prefer Lucius. So, has your mother told you about the plans for her and Father?" He asked, trying again and obviously either not picking up on Griffin's hints, or else simply ignoring them. Griffin's back stiffened and she kept her eyes on the rows of books, picking out the ones she needed for her classes every now and then. She said nothing.

Lucius Malfoy's mouth curled into a creepy smile and a proud look came into his eyes.

"Yes. Things are happening now for your parents and my parents. The greatest and… _cleanest_, wizarding families are working together now." His voice was soft and dangerous and Griffin felt her heart beating faster. She checked inside the cover of a book, _Herbology and its Benefits_ by Arthur Squidge, concentrating furiously on the list of contents.

"The LeStrange's too. And the Black's," He continued, "They're helping; such a fine family. If only that ragged beast of a boy they've had to board for the past sixteen years had not been born, or perhaps left to die, they might be as good as mine, or yours. Although I must say, his sister, Narcissa is _quite_ the beauty…"

Griffin's hands were shaking and she swallowed as she picked up a book that was on her list, not taking much notice of the title.

"Sirius Black is the best thing that ever happened to that family." Griffin said coolly. Malfoy's eye twitched slightly and his smile vanished.

"No, Scholarly," he hissed, "He is nothing more than a trouble maker who doesn't deserve such a life. I think his family should chuck him out to rot in the streets where he belongs. He may as well be a mudblood, the way he-"

But Lucius didn't get to finish his sentence. Griffin whipped out her wand and had it pointed at his bare, pale neck.

"Don't you dare, _ever_ talk about Sirius like that!" She hissed venomously.

Lucius' eyes widened in surprise, but he tried to keep his calm, a firm grip on his own wand.

"So, I see you've finally realised that to call one a mudblood is an insult. Have you started your training from you parents yet?" He asked, his tone sarcastic, though strained.

Griffin's eyes glinted fiercely.

"It's an insult to anybody! I'll never start training for… for that! And Sirius is ten times the man you'll ever be Lucius! I don't give a damn what filthy work my parents, or your parents or anyone's parents get up to in their spare time. It's bad enough that I have to live on the blood money of others, but to have to associate with spoilt prats like you all the time is torture. And nobody cares what you think either."

She let go, and her eyes flashed dangerously at him. He put a hand to his throat as if scared she might've damaged it in some way and glared at Griffin, his cheeks flushing furiously.

"How dare you…" He whispered, narrowing his eyes at her. "I'll be telling father about this, and if you _ever_ try to talk to me again, you'll be sorry!"

Griffin looked as though this announcement couldn't have worried her less. Malfoy was taller and older than her, but she didn't care. Anger was surging through her veins like poison and she was finding it took every ounce of her concentration to control her hands, which had formed into fists by her side.

"That's right. You go and tell Daddy," She sneered, "But I don't think he'll be too pleased that you're trying to cause a rift between the Malfoys and the Scholarlys."

Lucius' lip curled back into the terrible smile.

"Oh. I don't think they'll mind as much as they did five years ago. You know, as soon as you got into Gryffindor, I think most of us pureblood families saw there must be something wrong with the _Scholarlys_," he spat, "even if you only got in through process of elimination."

Griffin glared at him and clenched her left hand around her wand inside her pocket.

"Yes. That's right, isn't it, _Scholarly_. It's not like you're actually brave enough for Gryffindor, is it? But then, you're not humble enough for Hufflepuff. Not smart enough for Ravenclaw now, are you? And to not get into Slytherin? What a shame your poor parents had to endure, all those whispers and rumors of how their daughter must not be normal. Just like what happened to the Blacks. The only reason your family is still respected, Scholarly, is because they're so rich. But that money won't last forever, and your family will tumble down the ladder. All because of you." He finished slowly, savoring each word. He smiled victoriously at Griffin who slowly let go of her wand and took a deep breath.

"Well now, Lucius" She said in a calm voice, "It'll be a real pity never talk to you again. But I think I'd be doing my family a big favor anyway. Now if you don't mind, I've got some things to buy here. Surprising as it may seem to that big head of yours there, I didn't come to chat with you, so get out of my way."

She smiled at him politely and he roared, swirling around in a whirl of velvet cloaks. He stomped off in the other direction before exiting the bookshop. Griffin's faux smile faded and she bent down to pick up her books then stood up to find Slinket. She found him toying with a mouse in a bored fashion in one of the corners of the room.

"Oh dear, Griffin," He said looking up at her scowling figure with large, reproachful, yellow eyes. He let go of the small rodent's tail and the mouse scampered off in terror, "That was not the smartest thing to do with Mr. Malfoy over there."

Griffin swore.

"You saw that?"

Slinket made a tutting sound and shook his head.

"My dear, half the shop couldn't help noticing you strangling the boy."

Griffin scowled at him. "You can't defend him Slinket. You're the family cat! You must have heard what he said about our family. And anyway, I didn't strangle him. It's just the way he talks about this whole… Thing! It's disgusting. And he insulted Sirius!" She added.

Slinket arched his back slightly at the sound of Sirius's name. He had been the giver of many criticisms to that boy, and over time, the receiver of many pranks.

"Yes, yes. He insulted you, maybe even the family, but you really must learn to control your temper this year. It's not doing you any favours like that, and you could get hur-"

She picked up Slinket around the middle in mid sentence, glowering, and walked to the counter to pay for her supplies. At the counter she came face to face with the manager. She lay her books down on the counter and put the slightly winded and definitely more silent Slinket on her shoulders again.

"Ahh, Griffin Scholarly," Said the manager. Griffin nodded and wondered if he'd seen her fight, but he didn't say anything more.

"Err… I'll have those three goose feather quills over there and a new bottle of ink as well, thanks." She said quickly.

The manager nodded and collected all her things into a parcel. Griffin put her money on the bench and took the parcel, hurrying out of the shop.

"Thanks." She called back, shutting the door with a tinkle of the bell.

"No trouble my dear," Whispered the manager in a voice sprinkled with pity to her vanishing figure, "No trouble at all…"


	3. A Werewolf in London

Griffin Scholarly

And the Seven Silver Boarhounds

Chapter 2 - A Werewolf in London

Griffin stepped out of Flourish and Blotts and onto the cobblestone street, the sun shining overhead. The manager of the shop had always been a bit brusque with his customers, but to Griffin he was a good friend. When she was younger and her family had been there to shop she had always discussed the new arrivals with him, while her parents snobbed him off and looked around the shop daintily with looks on their faces not unlike repugnance.

When Slinket, who had recovered his breath but who wasn't saying anything, grunted beside Griffins ear, she nodded shortly and set off for Madam Malkin's. As soon as she had stepped inside the door, Madam Malkin herself, a squat smiling witch, bustled up to her importantly, carrying a curious measuring tape with all sorts of silver knobs and numbers on it.

Griffin placed Slinket down who immediately scampered off into the back room, growling and not looking back at her.

"Ahh," She said, removing some pins from her mouth and setting them on her counter near a pile of black material Griffin recognized as what was used for the Hogwarts cloaks, "Ms Scholarly. I've been waiting for you to come for a new uniform for years. You're brother used to come in for fresh robes at the beginning of each year!"

She spoke to Griffin in a greasy sort of tone; and she just nodded back numbly.

"Yeah, I know. But Drake always used to grow a few inches every year didn't he? And why waste money eh?" She tried to laugh, her pitch a little higher than normal.

Madam Malkin blinked blankly for a second.

"Oh yes dear, but you're family doesn't exactly need to be careful with money do they?" She smiled and clasped her hands in front of her brown apron and for the second time that morning, Griffin's jaw set into a determined smile.

"Perhaps not..." She muttered.

Each stared at the other for a minute then, remembering herself, Madam Malkin pulled out her wand and pointed it at a stool hiding in corner.

"_Accio stool_." She said brightly. The stool skidded across the room and stopped at Griffin's feet. "There you go dear, hop up." She said and as Griffin stepped up on the stool she pressed a silver button on her measuring tape. It immediately sprung into action, zooming around Griffin and measuring every inch of her body.

"Yes. I think it's definitely time for some new robes," Said Madam Malkin, her hand on her chin, "You've grown much taller, and you've certainly got some curves that weren't there last time."

Griffin's cheeks flushed a slight shade of magenta and she looked at all the different fabrics hanging around the room as the measuring tape whizzed around her. There were colors of every kind and one silvery bit of material that seemed to flow like water without actually moving. There were fabrics for dress robes, school robes, and normal robes. There was a fabric that looked so soft that she was sure to touch it would be heavenly and there was even a large skin of a white lion, whose head kept looking down dismally at its floppy and useless paws.

There were all sorts of scissors and patterns stacked neatly on shelves and in drawers and quick sketches and paintings of designs whose subjects paraded around with bored looks on their roughly sketched faces.

When the measuring tape had recorded all of Griffins measurements, occasionally squeaking out a few to Madam Malkin who nodded, it flew onto the counter and she clapped her hands together.

"Ok then. That's it!" She said. "You can put your arms down now dear. Yes that's right. Off the stool, oops, there we go." She turned as Griffin stepped down and sent the stool back to the corner with a flick of her wand.

Griffin moved to the counter and opened the brown dragon skin purse. She put a few galleons and a couple of sickles down and Madam Malkin collected them up and put them in an old fashioned till that muttered the change she needed in a bored tone.

"Thank you dear," She said, "Your robes will be ready in a couple of hours. I'll have them sent to the Manor."

Griffin opened her mouth to say that that wasn't necessary, and she could come back and pick them up herself, but her cat had slinked back into the room and was waving his tail around irritably.

"Come on Griffin," He said in an acidy tone, "We still have plenty to do."

Griffin just turned to Madam Malkin and thanked her for her time.

"Not a problem dear." She said in the oily tone again. "Come back as soon as you need to."

Griffin turned to leave, Slinket following close behind.

He refused to go anywhere near her shoulder all the while they were looking for an astrolabe, and wouldn't even let her scratch him under his chin when they went into the Cauldron Shop, to get Griffin a new copper cauldron. Her old one had been destroyed when she had tried to make an illicit potion, to turn all of the butterbeer at a common room celebration into firewhisky, late last year. Her parents had been furious with her when they found out; her father storming out of every room she had entered and her mother screaming endlessly about the never ending disappointments she caused all the time and the shame she continually put on the family name.

His mood did lighten, however, when she bought him a box of _Ernie Moggies Fresh Catnip Crunches_ from the Magical Menagerie.

When they stepped outside, Griffin holding her new cauldron with an inbuilt mercury rod that contained her parcels of books, the new Astrolabe and the Catnip treats, Slinket sat and looked up and down the street.

"We don't really have much else to do." He said finally and began licking his right paw. Griffin nodded and started walking towards a small shop with no sign.

"Griffin!" called out a voice. She turned around a full 360 degrees before she located the speaker.

For the first time that day she smiled a truly happy smile as she saw Remus Lupin running towards her, holding a tattered old book in his hand that reflected his grey robes perfectly. He was beaming, but his face was pale and he had bags under his eyes. When he reached Griffin he was panting slightly and out of the corner of her eye, Griffin saw on her Astrolabe (crammed awkwardly between all her books) that is was only a half a week until the next full moon.

"Lupin," She roared, grinning broadly. "I didn't know you were in London! I haven't seen you all holidays. How are you?"

Remus stopped running as he reached her; and Slinket wrinkled his nose at the state of his robes.

"My family's here while I get ready for school. We're staying at the leaky cauldron-" Slinket coughed politely, "- Where have you been all holidays?"

Griffin noticed he had avoided the question of how he was feeling, but didn't say anything about it.

"I've just been at… the Manor…" She said softly, and looked away. Lupin had come to her home once and it had not been a pleasant experience for either of them. Her parents, the portraits that hung all around her home, Slinket and even the furniture had not tried in the least to hide how they felt about him, and often made very loud comments about how shabby he looked. They kept asking Griffin when he would be leaving too, as though he wasn't in the room.

He had been standing right beside Griffin on each occasion.

"Oh. Barrels of fun you must've had there all summer." He said, but his voice was warm and jovial. Griffin grinned.

"Oh yeah, loads of laughs. That portrait of my uncle Mortem is great for conversation. Really cheerful man that one. So, have you seen the others at all?" She asked, and then waved a hand at Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlor and added, "D'you want to go there to catch up?"

Lupin nodded politely and followed Griffin as she began walking, lugging her cauldron along behind her.

"Well, James and Sirius both wrote to me a few times but I haven't heard a peep out of Peter. Not that I'd really expected to though, I mean, he seems terrified of owls." He said slowly. Griffin laughed, but it was cut short as she saw the look on his face was quite serious.

"Well how are Black and Potter then?" She asked. After the cauldron fiasco, restrictions at the Scholarly Manor had been stepped up to the point that she wasn't even allowed to communicate with her friends via owls.

Lupin smiled thoughtfully.

"Sirius finally left the Black House."

Griffin stopped walking and turned to him, nearly causing him to crash into her. The Black House was what the friends had unofficially christened Grimmauld Place, the home where Sirius had lived a miserable existence for sixteen years. Sometimes it was very hard explaining to some people why living in a big house and belonging to a rich family didn't always equal happiness.

"He left? He actually did it?" She asked. She smiled grimly and looked at Lupin, as though waiting for him to say it again.

"Yes," He said, "He's been with James and James' parents all summer. I'll bet they've had a blast together." He was smiling, and was obviously happy for Sirius, but something in his eyes and the tone of his voice made Griffin suspect that he had been feeling a little left out.

"Well, that's great news," She said cheerfully and putting a hand on Lupin's back as they sat down in the chairs outside of Florean Fortescues, "It'll be great to see them both at Hogwarts again. But what've you been doing all summer Moony?"

Remus sat with both his hands over the book on his lap.

"My father and I went back to France for a little while. We went on a time travel tour and saw the Muggle perspective of the French Revolution. Amazing. They had no idea their Queen was a witch who was trying to. Other than that I've just been doing the usual, you know, studying, reading, getting a head start on the books for the new term." He sounded a little jaded and looked blankly at the ground, but then looked at Griffin and smiled.

"I heard we're getting a new Charms teacher this year." He said brightly. Griffin grinned.

"That'll be good. Maybe this year I can actually beat you on my OWLS. What'd you get last year? 99 percent was it?"

Lupin smiled, "Yeah. Something like that. But you'll beat my scores easily. You're terrific at Charms Griff."

Griffin rolled her eyes.

"I was joking. You're the best bloody student at Hogwarts. If it wasn't for your courage, I'd be wondering why you weren't put in Ravenclaw."

Lupin had no chance to argue, not that his argument could have possibly been a very strong one, he was a terrific student, because at that moment Florean Fortescue came out of his shop with a tea towel over one arm and a pad and quill in the other, smiling at the two teenagers.

"Ahh, if it isn't my three favorite customers." He said, and he patted Slinket on the top of his head with a large hand.

"Hey," said Griffin, "Could we please have umm… a couple of sundaes, one choc-fudge and one strawberry; Oh, and a saucer of the Half-Way Cream for Slinket please."

She looked to Lupin to see if her order was correct and he nodded, smiling.

"Alrighty then, Ms Scholarly," Said Fortescue bustling off, "Coming right up."

While they waited for their ice creams, Griffin and Lupin chatted about some of the events of last year, and then Griffin asked him questions about the OWLs, which he had passed with flying colors the previous year and which she would be studying for this year.

They ate their ice creams cheerfully, Griffin's choc-fudge sundae warming every inch of her body, Lupin's strawberry sundae giving him constant bursts of the giggles and Slinket happily and silently munching on his Half-Way cream; a special formula for cats invented be Florean himself, which was half way between cream and ice cream, and managed to keep feline teeth white and bright.

When they had finished and had sat talking for hours, Slinket finally made a noise in the back of his throat, and Griffin, noticing the dimming sky, decided it was probably time to leave. Lupin thought so too, and they made plans to meet up in a few days to get on the Hogwarts Express, the scarlet steam engine that took the students of Hogwarts up to the school and back every year.

They both waved as they headed off in different directions and Griffin picked up Slinket and her cauldron. He jumped up to her shoulder and nuzzled into her neck.

She walked into a small building full of lit fireplaces of all sorts of descriptions, the heat disorienting her for a second. A tall, thin witch stepped out of one in a burst of emerald flame. She was soon followed by a young boy who, looking slightly sick, stumbled out of the grate and ran to her. He clutched her hand desperately.

Griffin walked up to a large, ornately carved sandstone fireplace embellished with a Gryphon, it's serrated beak wide-open, rubies in place of eyes. It was one of the few private fireplaces in the Floo Station, and Griffin hated using it, even though she did admire its beauty.

She pulled a small silver felt bag from her jeans pocket and opened its drawstring. Tipping it upside down, the last of her Floo powder piled softly into her palm.


	4. Home Away From Home

Griffin Scholarly

And the Seven Silver Boarhounds

Chapter 3 – Home Away From Home

Griffin awoke groaning to the sound of her enchanted alarm clock. She took her wand, which was resting by her pillow and opened one bleary eye.

"_Mortem sonorous_!" The high-pitched squealing stopped abruptly. Slinket jumped up onto her bed.

"Gerroff! I'm going back to sleep." She said groggily.

"Good morning to you too Sunshine." He grumbled. Slinket was more than used to Griffin in the mornings, but it would have been nice now and then to get a normal greeting.

"Mmpph!" She grumbled and pulled the covers further over her head. Slinket jumped to the spot where her head was and started to knead it, in the most annoying way cats do. Griffin sprang up immediately, feeling the small but sharp claws sink into the quilt.

"Ok! Ok! I'm ready!" Slinket purred innocently and began licking his side.


End file.
